The National Commission on Service-Learning
January 2002
In his recent State of the Union address, President Bush called on Americans to embrace a "new culture of responsibility" and to commit at least two years, or 4,000 hours, of their lives to serve their neighbors and country. To help meet this goal, supporters of service-learning want young people to participate in more hands-on activities that connect academics with the real world. In a report issued late last month by the National Commission on Service Learning, an august collection of supporters has urged the expansion of service learning as an effective teaching strategy for enhancing students' academic and civic experience. This report covers six key areas: the potential of service learning for improved academic and civic engagement; the basics of service learning projects; the breadth of support for service learning; the impact of service learning; implementing quality service learning programs; and recommendations for the future. Although the authors argue that service learning helps motivate children to learn and is associated with increased attendance and reduced drop-out rates, it will be some time before there is hard evidence to show that it leads to academic improvement. This important point aside, service learning is already playing an important role in getting young people involved in their communities and their nation-a worthy goal in itself. View the report online at http://www.servicelearningcommission.org/learningindeed.pdf. For a hard copy, contact the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, one of the report's sponsors, at 800-819-9997 or [email protected].
